


Pearl

by overratedantihero



Category: DCU (Comics), Justice League - All Media Types
Genre: Almost Drowning, Alternative Universe: Merfolk, Barry is merfolk, Bonding Trip, Gen, Reckless and Disorderly Conduct
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-27
Updated: 2017-11-27
Packaged: 2019-02-07 12:26:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12841164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/overratedantihero/pseuds/overratedantihero
Summary: Hal takes a dive to prove a point, he doesn't expect what he finds.[Check out this INCREDIBLE fanart by Plug_In_Baby:https://dxnceophobia.tumblr.com/post/175028075011/halbarry-for-mermay-based-on-this-glorious-fic ]





	Pearl

Perhaps, Bruce found himself thinking, not for the first time that afternoon, a League bonding trip to the beach was a rotten idea. Beach was a liberal term for the rocky crags they were hiking alongside expansive cliffs on Grecian coastline. Diana had chosen the location, and she predictably chose somewhere reminiscent of home. She also insisted that the fresh air would do the team good, and allow for tighter bonding and more effective communication.

“You don’t have gills, Curry, it makes no sense!” Hal shouted, as Arthur crossed his arms. “I’ve seen Aqualad- both of them. They have gills. Explain.”

“I don’t know how you expect me to,” Arthur retorted. “Explain why your magic ring, theoretically the most powerful weapon in the universe, needs to be recharged every 24 hours. Does the Corps even train you in combat, or are all of you as helpless as you look without your toy?”

Hal barked out a laugh. "You have no idea how I am without the ring-- want to find out?" 

This. This is why Bruce had been opposed to such an outing.

“Hal is not helpless,” Diana admonished.

“Ha,” Hal shot at Arthur.

“And Arthur’s physiology is only important so long as we know how to care for him if injured, it is impolite to pry otherwise,” Diana added. Arthur shot Hal a smug grin. “Now, if you two are finished, I would like to lay out our feast right here.”

They stopped in their tracks and found themselves indeed in a clearing, large enough for the massive blanket that Cyborg lugged. At Diana’s signal, he laid it out, and she set down a cooler, filled with foods that she’d chosen. Clark also set down the cooler he was holding, which she promised had wines that may not get many of them very intoxicated, but would pair well with the fruit, cheeses, and meats that she had curated.

Once the meal was laid out, and once Diana carried out a ritual as thanks to the gods, they descended on the hearty display of figs, grapes, goat cheese, spreads, prosciutto, olives, feta, and the rest.

“Diana, you outdid yourself,” Bruce murmured, glancing at the food but also relishing in the silence as Hal and Arthur busily ate rather than bickered. Even Cyborg, who had expressed hesitance at some of the creamier cheeses, had expanded his palette and appeared to be enjoying himself. Diana beamed.

“Libations, fellowship, and the sharing of abundance are important virtues to my people, and they are important virtues for a team. It is my wish that we create memories like this, so that we don’t lose ourselves in our individual strife,” Diana murmured, sipping from her glass of wine. Bruce drew his mouth into a hard line, but Clark raised his glass and drank to Diana.

Unfortunately, so did Hal. And then he continued to drink. And drink. And drink. Until challenging Arthur to a swim felt reasonable and entertaining.

“Hal, you’re drunk,” Arthur chided, although his own cheeks were dusted pink. “We’re not swimming. I’d beat you, hard, and I’m not interested in seeing a grown man cry.”

That did it. Hal stood up and slipped on his ring, and his uniform wrapped around his frame. Arthur stood as well, squaring his shoulders. But then, before anyone could stop him, Hal smirked and flung himself towards the nearby cliff’s edge. He hovered, glowing, just past the edge and above the water for only a moment before he gave a salute and slipped off his ring, plunging down into the depths.

Clark sprang into action and flew over the water, just in time to see the white foamy splash as Hal disappeared into the wine-dark sea.

“He’s dead,” Cyborg concluded as the others clustered around the edge to search for his resurgence. “He really just killed himself. In front of all of us.”

“He’s not dead,” Bruce growled. “He had the ring. He’s not dead, until the ring flies up and searches for a new Lantern. Give him a minute to surface.”

“My bad,” Cyborg said. “He’s just _gonna_ be dead.”

* * *

Hal hit the water feet first and it felt as if every bone in his body shattered at once. The cold of the sea sobered him up, and he began to thrash. He fell from too high, hit the water too hard, was too streamlined. He needed to get back to the surface and quickly, before he lost his breath or his-

His ring.

He scrambled about his person for his ring, but it wasn’t still clutched in his hand and it wasn’t floating where he could see. His eyes stung from the salt of the water as he wildly searched around himself.

Then, he saw a flash of red and he stilled.

In the otherwise murky blue-gray, he had definitely seen red, if only for a moment. He wracked his brain for a fish or coral or something that might be native in that color, but even the plausible species wouldn’t be able to move that quickly. Then he saw it again, and suddenly he felt a pair of hands on his chest and a pressure wrap around his legs.

An inquisitive face appeared directly before Hal’s, and Hal might have screamed if his lungs didn’t already burn so badly.

Once the initial shock died down, Hal began to appreciate that the face was _pretty_. The creature, or mer-creature, judging by the gills that fluttered on either side of his neck, had a square jaw and angular cheekbones. Blond hair fanned out around his head and its eyes, which were all iris with a slivered pupil, like that of a cat, were a lighter blue than the sea in which they floated. A light smattering of deep red scales framed its face and disappeared down the back of its neck and onto its shoulders. Following their pattern, Hal noticed the creature’s fins, which connected down its sides and bled into a tail so long that it wound around Hal’s legs and still extended further down before ending into two, broad fins. More scales blurred the edges of the creatures tail into skin, and they tapered upwards like hair would on a man’s stomach.

Hal’s vision began to cloud, and he beat on the creature’s chest. His air was running low, and he was trapped into its grip. The creature just tilted its head and pat Hal’s chest in return. Hal glanced down and there, on its finger, was his ring. He thrashed and reached for that hand. The creature tightened its tail’s grip, but allowed Hal to slip the power ring from its finger and onto his own.

The creature started and clicked excitedly as Hal’s uniform formed beneath the creatures hold. Green lit up under red, and as the ring’s force field gathered around Hal, Hal sucked in a lungful of filtered air, and then several more for good measure.

“God _damn_ , I thought that was about to be it,” Hal gasped. “Taken out by a drunken dive into the Mediterranean Sea. I can see Ganthet’s face now.” He tried to wiggle free from the creature, its purpose served by delivering him the ring, but the creature seemed uninterested in freeing Hal and only tightened its grip on his legs. Hal huffed.

“Alright, listen buddy, I owe you one for finding my ring, but I’ve gotta get back up that cliff and punch a fish man in the mouth so let go, alright?”

The creature tilted its head and clicked some more. Hal groaned. “Ring? Translate?”

“-any Atlantean I’ve ever seen, but you couldn’t possibly be a human because there aren’t any humans with bio luminescence, not as far as I know. Are you half, like the Atlantean king?” The creature spoke so quickly, it took Hal a moment to process what it was saying.

“Shit, you know Arthur?” Hal said, wincing because maybe he could have worded that differently. The creature froze and Hal caught a glimpse of needle sharp teeth. And then its face lit up and it unraveled from around Hal in a flurry of motion. It circled Hal so quickly that the force of the water spun Hal around.

“I can understand! You can understand too? I have so many questions!” the creature tittered, practically vibrating in its enthusiasm. After a moment, Hal realized that the creature _was_ vibrating, and it may have been purring too. 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Hal used the ring to propel himself out of the creature’s miniature vortex. “I need to get back to the surface, where my friends are. They’re probably worried--”

The beast struck so fast that Hal only saw a flash of color before the creature wound around him again. And then the look that it gave him was so pitiful and disappointed that Hal felt a tug at his heart, more so even than that time he missed Jim’s birthday.

“… what kind of questions?” Hal caved.

* * *

“He’s dead, and we don’t see the ring because it found an Atlantean and now Atlantis is out one citizen and we’re out one Green Lantern,” Cyborg insisted. He hadn't stopped babbling since Hal had disappeared into the waves, but the team began to shift restlessly as his argument became more and more compelling. 

“… The kid has a point, I’m going after him,” Arthur finally said, stripping down to his briefs and approaching the cliff’s edge. He leaped off the cliff and dove into the water in a graceful arc, acclimating to the chill almost instantaneously. A familiar green glow in the depths announced Hal better than any beacon, but the complete lack of sea life in the surrounding area had Arthur nervous. Hal and himself may have created splashes, but this sort of radio silence signaled a predator more than a disturbance. 

Sure enough, when Arthur reached Hal, he held back the urge to recoil. 

Hal was entangled by a merfolk who was clicking excitedly in Hal’s ear while Hal smiled and rolled his eyes and responded in human tongue. Despite Hal being immobilized by the mer’s massive tail tangled around Hal’s legs, Hal seemed at ease. Occasionally Hal would form a construct in the water of something mundane, like a washing machine or a bike. Arthur was so entranced by the strange scene, he didn’t even think to warn the merfolk of his arrival before it scented him.

Prompted by the tirgger, the mer wrapped its arms around Hal’s torso and pulled him against it protectively, claw like nails digging into Hal’s back while Hal cried out. The mer planted his chin on Hal’s shoulder and bared its teeth in challenge. Arthur raised his hands in a placating gesture, tilting his head up enough to expose his neck consolingly. 

 _No fight, friend of Hal, Atlantean_ , he pushed telepathically. He wasn't sure how well mer picked up Atlantean telepathy, and there was a tense moment as the mer looked unsure, teeth still bared but glare softening. Slowly, it unhooked its claws from Hal’s back, but kept its tight embrace. Hal began to wiggle in earnest, but the mer clicked at him and he stilled.

“Arthur?” Hal called, although he was still facing away from Arthur. “My new buddy said that the Atlantean king was challenging his first claim rights? Stop picking fights, dude. You’re gonna get your ass beat.”

The mer clicked some more and Hal added, “Also, stop with the single phrases. You’re insulting him.” Hal pat the mer on the back and the mer released him, albeit slowly. Hal stretched, wincing at his sore muscles and stinging back, before facing Arthur. “Anyway, hey, Arthur. Meet Barry. His name’s not actual Barry, but I physically cannot make the noises required to pronounce his name, so I’ve named him Barry, and he seems chill with it. Right, Barry?”

Barry clicked some more from where he floated behind Hal. He placed his chin on Hal’s shoulder and Arthur frowned.

“Hal, ‘Barry’ is merfolk. They’re not like humans, or Atlanteans. They’re… animalistic. They’re violent, territorial creatures. And... are you sure he isn't courting you? That's some possessive behavior, Hal.” Possessive and dangerous behavior. With the ring, Hal stood a chance, but merfolk could shred humans without losing breath. They could take on Atlanteans, if provoked enough. 

Hal frowned. “Nah, dude, not Barry. He’s friendly. He watches over humans and ships who stumble into this area and he only got stabby when he saw you. Maybe merfolk just don’t like you, ever consider that?”

Arthur sighed, a deep and long-suffering sigh. “We should return. The others think you’ve been injured or killed. And it's best you don't get too attached to that creature, it will just as quickly slit your throat as it will curl up against you.”

Barry clicked, eyebrows drawing close and mouth turning down into a tight frown. Hal ran his fingers through its hair and the creature's features melted as it let out a rumbling purr. Arthur's lip curled in disdain. 

"He could come with us," Hal proposed, still stroking the merfolk, "Bruce is rich as fuck. He has enough to outfit the Watchtower with an aquarium. Barry could have his own hall.” Barry tilted his head and clicked, prompting Hal to poorly explain the concept of aquariums while Barry looked uneasy.

“He’s not a pet!” Arthur raised his voice. “And this is his territory, you can’t just rip him away from it and expect him to acclimate to captivity. Let him go, Hal... If you must, you can visit him. But later, right now we're risking the rest coming after us needlessly.”

Hal took Barry’s face in his hands. “Hear that? I’ll come back. But right now, I have to go back up, alright? Wait for me, I will be back. Scout's honor.”

Barry clicked. 

"I don't know how to explain that last bit, it's just a promise, okay? I'm promising you a thing, don't think too hard about it." 

The mer frowned but shot forward and wrapped its tail around Hal one last time, nuzzling his neck affectionately. When he released Hal, Hal kicked up towards the surface, glancing back several times to see that Barry was watching their ascension, that pitiful look from twisting his features. 

The others embraced his dripping return with varying degrees of relief, and they packed up their picnic, having had enough excitement for one off-duty afternoon. They hiked towards the nearest town, where Diana and Bruce had arranged for them to stay in a secluded bed and breakfast. But once everyone seemingly succumbed to sleep, Hal slipped out from the cozy home to drift back from where they'd come. If anyone noticed, no one made an effort to stop him. 


End file.
